Jackson Sanatorium (also known as, Our Home on the Hillside, Home Hygienic Institute, Jackson Health Resort) was a historical mineral spa in Dansville, Livingston County, New York, attracted many prominent people to Dansville for the water cure.[1] Operated for many years by the Jackson family,[2] its operations dated to 1852 when water cures were in growing favor. Dansville had a spring gushing from the hillside, "All Healing Spring", which was supposed to have curative properties. As these water cures were located near some noted springs, "the Home on the Hillside" was created and the institution was ready for occupancy in 1853. In 1890, the old name of the company, "Our Home Hygienic Institute" was changed to "The Jackson Sanitorium". In 1904, the name was again changed to "The Jackson Health Resort".[3][4]Granula was invented at the Jackson Sanatorium.[5]
The history of the Institution dates from the year 1854, when Nathaniel Bingham, who was more or less of an invalid and who became interested in the growing water cure therapy, introduced from Germany, thought it would be a good idea to have a water cure option at Dansville. These Institutions were starting up all through the U.S. and were attracting a great deal of attention. The spring on the east hillside, then known as the "All-Healing Spring", which burst out one night in the 1800s, carrying away rocks and trees and earth, was thought to possess curative qualities of value.[6]
Bingham associated with himself Lyman Granger, and the Institution was completed in its first form and ready for occupancy in 1853. In the meantime, Bingham's health continued to fail; Granger thought he would withdraw also from the enterprise so they both sold their interests to Abraham Pennell, at that time a resident of Richmond, Ontario County, New York, who had a son-in-law (Dr. Stevens) who was anxious to establish in the Water Cure practice.[6]
Stevens opened the Institution but carried it on for only a short time. The building was closed then for a year when a Dr. Blackall, a physician of New York City, assumed charge and carried the Water Cure on for some time. Not achieving the success he had desired, he forsook the enterprise and nothing more was done until the year 1858 when Dr. James Caleb Jackson, who had been physician in a similar Institution in Glen Haven, Cayuga County, New York, came to look over the property. He had been induced to do so by Pennell in the hope that he might, by reason of his extensive acquaintance with Water Cure people, find someone to purchase the same, was so attracted by the character of the spring and the possibilities for the future, that he entered into an arrangement to lease the property for three years, with the privilege of buying at a stipulated sum within that period.[6]
On October 1, 1858, Jackson and his group of assistants arrived in Dansville and were landed by Captain Henry, who then was the proprietor of the stage line between Wayland, New York and Dansville. Jackson was not a man of capital, but a man of ideas and great force of character. He had a large clientage by reason of his success as a Water Cure physician during the time he had practiced at Glen Haven. His eldest son, Giles E. Jackson, his adopted daughter, Dr. Harriet Newell Austin, and a good friend, F. Wilson Hurd, who afterwards became a physician, were the original proprietors.[6]
The capital with which the Institution was started was US$750, the partners being equally interested. The first business organization, established in October 1858, was known as "F. Wilson Hurd & Co." with Giles E. Jackson as the business manager. Other Jackson family members who were also involved included Dr. Jackson's wife, Lucretia Edgerton (Brewster) Jackson ("Mother Jackson"[1]) and Dr. Jackson's youngest son, James H. Jackson.[6]
The Institution grew and thrived greatly, so that by the time the winter of 1858 set in Dr. Jackson had 50 patients under his care. Every year saw large improvement made to the Institution. Liberty Hall was built in 1864, being planned and its construction supervised by Giles E. Jackson. It was built by Alonzo Phillips, of Dansville, as the contractor. The original plot of land on which the building was erected or connected with the same, was bought of Peter Perine and consisted of 13 acres (5.3ha). Nearly all the land which was connected with the Institution was bought from time to time of Perine.[6]
1864 death of Giles E. Jackson
The death of Giles E. Jackson of consumption in 1864, compelled a dissolution of the partnership, and his mother, Lucretia E. Jackson, and his younger brother, James H. Jackson, inherited his share. A new co-partnership was made under the firm name of Austin, Hurd & Co., Dr. Austin owning one-third, Dr. Hurd one-third, and Lucretia E. and James H. Jackson, owning one-sixth each. James H. Jackson became the business manager. James H. Jackson married Katharine Johnson in 1864, and two years later, Katharine's father, Hon. Emerson Johnson, came to live at Jackson Sanatorium and was an important factor in the business aftairs of the Institution from that time until his death in 1896.[6]
Dr. Hurd sold his interest in 1868 to the other partners and the new partnership was entitled Austin, Jackson & Co. Under this title, the business was carried on until 1872, when a stock company was organized with a capital of US$100,000, of which only 800 shares were issued. In the meantime, 10 or 12 cottages were built around the Institution and it grew to proportions enabling it to accommodate 300 people. It had a national reputation by this time, with guests from every state and territory of the U.S. at that time, and others from Canada and the West Indies.[6]
James H. Jackson graduated as a physician in 1876 but continued always to be the Institution's business manager. His wife, Kate Johnson Jackson, graduated as a physician in 1877.[6]
1882 fire
On the evening of June 26, 1882, the main building burned. The cottages and Liberty Hall were unharmed. At the time, Dr. James Caleb Jackson, being 71 years of age, had practically retired from personal management of the Institution with Dr. James H. Jackson and Dr. Kate Johnson Jackson as the practical heads of the Institution.[6]
1883 new construction
The main buildingEntrance and lobbyParlor and main drawing room
After the fire, however, a new business combination was created. Dr. James H. Jackson bought in the outside stock until he became the owner of the whole 800 shares. He then disposed of 30 shares of the same to his three cousins. Dr. E. D. Leffingwell, Dr. Albert Leffingwell and William E. Leffingwell, these gentlemen being sons of Dr. James Caleb Jack.son's only sister, Jane E. Lefifingwell. They were all well educated and talented men and it was thought that this combination would prove a very strong one, as indeed it did. These gentlemen furnished US$20,000 worth of added capital, making the sum total of the issued shares US$100,000. US$100,000 of cash was borrowed on first mortgage and Dr. James H. Jackson, putting all the property left after the Fire and the insurance money and much of his private means into the enterprise, made it possible to build the fire-proof main building, completed October 1, 1883.[6]
The new building was built by Frederich & Son of Rochester, New York, contractors. The architects were Messrs. Warner & Brockett, who designed the Powers Block and Powers Hotel in Rochester. The foundations were laid to grade by the Sanatorium organization. The name of the Institution was changed from "Our Home on the Hillside" to "The Sanatorium", Dr. James H. Jackson being the first one in the U.S. to use the word "Sanatorium" as applied to a health institution. This building was the first fire-proof structure ever built in the U.S., outside of a city, for purposes of a health institution. The main building, when the steam heating and plumbing were completed, had cost US$180,000, so that with its furnishings, it was a heavy financial investment with debt upon it of US$200,000. This amount, with the insurance money and the capital put in it by the Leffingwells, represented the practical cost of the Institution when it was ready to do business in October 1883.[6]
The thermo-electric bath was perhaps the most popular hydro-therapeutic measure enjoyed by the sanatorium's patients and guests. The women's electric department came equipped with a stationary Fitch battery, portable Kidder Faradic, and Baltimore dry-cell galvanic batteries, with Williams current controlled, and fitted for every form of electrical treatment or bath. The men's department included a combination cabinet machine made by the Kidder Company of New York, and portable batterires. A Waite & Bartlett machine was added to the Static electricity room, which, with a Ramsey charger attached, was to fortify it against atmospheric influence. The gynecological department used a large McIntosh battery.[7]
In the new company combination, Dr. William E. Leffingwell was business manager, while Dr. James H. Jackson, Dr. Kate J. Jackson, Dr. Elisha D. Leffingwell and Dr. Albert Leffingwell were managing physicians.[6]
In 1886, William E. Leffingwell sold his interest to his brothers; in 1887 Dr. E. D. Leffingwell sold his interest to Dr. Albert Leffingwell; and in 1888, Dr. Albert Leffingwell sold his interest to Dr. James H. Jackson who associated with himself as trustees and managers, Dr. Walter E. Gregory, and Mrs. Helen D. Gregory, his wife. Dr. Gregory had been for years a superintendent in the Institution and had graduated in medicine. Mrs. Gregory had been cashier of the Institution from 1882, and Dr. James H. Jackson associated them in the enterprise when the Leffingwells sold their interest.[6]
1890 sale of Our Home Hygienic Institute
In the year 1890, the old stock company, known as Our Home Hygienic Institute of Dansville, New York, was sold to a new corporation known as The Jackson Sanatorium, and Dr. James Arthur Jackson (b. 1868), son of Dr. James H. Jackson and Dr. Kate J. Jackson, became an owner. Mrs. Gregory retired from ownership, but retained her office as cashier and treasurer.[6]
James Arthur Jackson graduated in medicine in 1895 and became a physician and business manager in association with his father and Dr. and Mrs. Gregory in that year, his father retiring practically from the details of the business management.[6]
The Jacksons issued the initial Year Book in 1897, covering the sanatorium's history of ihe previous year. The resident family hoped through it to gain a personal relationship with many who had at some time within the previous forty years visited the institution. Hundreds among these were also subscribers to their health journal, The Laws of Life, which was discontinued some years later. In the Year Book, the Jacksons held that the way to health and highest being of body and mind was to be found by "living in obedience to the divine laws of life". This included diet, exercise, rest, baths, electricity and other therapeutic forms of treatment recognized and employed by the medical profession at that time, but also mental and spiritual forces for regaining and preserving health. They believed in the healthful influence of "right mental habits", in the "potency of good thinking", and that the power of faith, hope and love as being the most natural, practical and efficient way for therapeutic purposes.[7]
20th century
About 1916, the institution passed into the hands of a receiver and was later sold to Dr. Leffingwell, who operated it for some time. On January 1, 1918, during World War I, the Institution was leased by the government and designated as U.S. Army General Hospital No. 13.[8] The hospital specialized in the treatment of psychoneuroses, and it began receiving patients in November 1918.[8]
The U.S. Public Health Service took over the hospital in April 1919.[8] War veterans suffering from nervous disorders were treated here for the next year and a half, fully 150 being accommodated at one time.[4]
The hospital was closed at the expiration of this period and for three years the property remained vacant. In 1924, announcement was made that the place had been bought by W. F. Goodale, of Buffalo, New York and a group of physicians of that city. Extensive improvements were made at the institution and it was opened to the public as a hotel and health resort in the latter part of 1924.[4]
Livingston County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,834. Its county seat is Geneseo. The county is named after Robert R. Livingston, who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase. The county is part of the Finger Lakes region of the state.
Dansville is a village in the town of North Dansville, with a small northern part in the town of Sparta in Livingston County, in western New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 4,433. The village is named after Daniel Faulkner, an early European-American settler. Interstate 390 passes the west side of the village.
Granola is a food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, seeds, honey or other sweeteners such as brown sugar, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until crisp, toasted and golden brown. The mixture is stirred while baking to avoid burning and to maintain a loose breakfast cereal consistency. Dried fruit, such as raisins and dates, and confections such as chocolate are sometimes added. Granola is often eaten in combination with yogurt, honey, fresh fruit, milk or other forms of cereal. It also serves as a topping for various pastries, desserts or ice cream. Muesli is similar to granola, except that it is traditionally neither sweetened nor baked.
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The term encompasses a broad range of approaches and therapeutic methods that take advantage of the physical properties of water, such as temperature and pressure, to stimulate blood circulation, and treat the symptoms of certain diseases.
A sanatorium, also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a healthy climate, usually in the countryside. The idea of healing was an important reason for the historical wave of establishments of sanatoria, especially at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. One sought, for instance, the healing of consumptives especially tuberculosis or alcoholism, but also of more obscure addictions and longings of hysteria, masturbation, fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Facility operators were often charitable associations, such as the Order of St. John and the newly founded social welfare insurance companies.
James Caleb Jackson was an American nutritionist and the inventor of the first dry, whole grain breakfast cereal which he called Granula. His views influenced the health reforms of Ellen G. White, a founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Granula was the first manufactured breakfast cereal. It was invented by James Caleb Jackson in 1863. Jackson and many of his contemporaries believed that the digestive system was the basis of illness. He therefore began experimenting at his upstate New York health spa with cold cereal as an illness cure; the development of Granula was the outcome of his experiments.
The Battle Creek Sanitarium was a world-renowned health resort in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. It started in 1866 on health principles advocated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and from 1876 to 1943 was managed by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg.
Edward Livingston Trudeau was an American physician who established the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium at Saranac Lake for the treatment of tuberculosis.
Nicholas H Noyes Memorial Hospital is a 72-bed acute care hospital in Dansville, New York and provides health services to residents of Livingston, Allegany, Steuben and surrounding counties.
The Trudeau Institute is an independent, not-for-profit, biomedical research center located on a 42 acres (170,000 m2) campus in Saranac Lake, New York. Its scientific mission is to make breakthrough discoveries that lead to improved human health.
The Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium was a tuberculosis sanatorium established in Saranac Lake, New York in 1885 by Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau. After Trudeau's death in 1915, the institution's name was changed to the Trudeau Sanatorium, following changes in conventional usage. It was listed under the latter name on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The Glen Springs Sanitarium was a hotel and sanatorium located high above Seneca Lake on the western hillsides of the village of Watkins Glen, in Schuyler County, New York. Known in the early 1900s as the "Nauheim of America", it remained a noted landmark of the area until it was demolished in 1996.
Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, popularly known as the Tambaram TB Sanatorium, is a major state-owned hospital situated in Chennai, India. The hospital is funded and managed by the state government of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1928.
The town of Colorado Springs, Colorado, played an important role in the history of tuberculosis in the era before antituberculosis drugs and vaccines. Tuberculosis management before this era was difficult and often of limited effect. In the 19th century, a movement for tuberculosis treatment in hospital-like facilities called sanatoriums became prominent, especially in Europe and North America. Thus people sought tuberculosis treatment in Colorado Springs because of its dry climate and fresh mountain air. Some people stayed in boarding houses, while others sought the hospital-like facilities of sanatoriums. In the 1880s and 1890s, it is estimated that one-third of the people living in Colorado Springs had tuberculosis. The number of sanatoriums and hospitals increased into the twentieth century. During World War II, medicines were developed that successfully treated tuberculosis and by the late 1940s specialized tuberculosis treatment facilities were no longer needed.
Harriet Newell Austin was an American hydrotherapist, author, and dress-reform advocate. She was the designer of the "American costume," a style of dress meant to promote women's health.
Zucker Hillside Hospital is a psychiatric facility that opened in 1926, relocated to its present address in 1941, and was renamed in 1999 to its present name.
James Hathaway Jackson was an American physician. He was in charge of the Jackson Sanatorium at Dansville, Livingston County, New York and also served as that city's mayor.
Katharine Johnson Jackson was an American physician affiliated with the water cure movement at the Jackson Sanatorium in Dansville, Livingston County, New York. Earlier in her life, she studied stenography, and became one of the first women to adopt that profession.
Walter E. Gregory was an American physician who specialized in nervous diseases, specifically neurasthenia. He became superintendent of the Jackson Health Resort of Dansville, Livingston County, New York in 1872, and after graduating from medical school, one of the managing physicians of the institution. He was the first chairman of the Southern Livingston County, New York chapter of the American Red Cross, the chapter being founded in the town where Clara Barton first started the Red Cross movement in the U.S.
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